Behrend Baseball Season Ends at NCAA Regional Tournament

The Penn State Behrend Lions dropped a tough 8-5 game against Penn State Berks in the NCAA Tournament Mid-Atlantic Regional on Thursday, May 14 to finish the season at 31-13.  The AMCC champions advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time ever after capturing their second straight league championship.

Against Penn State Berks, Behrend was constantly threatening to post a big inning with runners all over the base paths, but was never able to break out for that big inning.  The blue and white had 13 hits in the game and left 17 runners on base.

Behrend got a run in the top of the first inning, but Berks responded with three runs of its own in the bottom of the first, and one in the second to take a 4-1 lead into the third inning.

Eddie Kessler (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) led off the third inning with a double and was singled home by Josh Fyffe (Fredonia/Sharpsville) cutting the Berks lead to 4-2.  In the fourth Behrend loaded the bases before Fyffe's sacrifice fly scored Ryan Geibel (East Butler/Butler) getting Behrend to within a run at 4-3.  Berks again responded scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth, two off a home run to create distance at 7-3.  Behrend made it 7-4 when Geibel's sacrifice fly scored Ryan Liddle (DuBois/DuBois), but Berks was able to get out of the inning stranding two Behrend base runners.

Berks posted a run in the sixth and then got Behrend to strand six runners on base in the final three innings.  The Behrend Lions pushed one across in the ninth but the rally ended with a lineout and Behrend was eliminated 8-5.

Fyffe was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Geoff Lang (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny) was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, and Geibel was 1-for-2 with a walk, one RBI, and one run scored.